


Picnic Basket

by mrpicard



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Movies)
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkward Dates, Bartenders, Eating, Ferengi, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Food, Gentle Kissing, Humor, Jefferies Tube, Kissing, Love, M/M, Sheliak, Snacks & Snack Food, Starship Enterprise (Star Trek)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-23
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-05 21:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11586645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrpicard/pseuds/mrpicard
Summary: Picard and Alex go on one of their first dates aboard the Enterprise.





	Picnic Basket

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet belongs to my [In These Arms](http://archiveofourown.org/series/79135) series but can also stand on its own.

Alex looked from left to right and then from right to left.

There was _really_ no one else in the corridor.

Good.

He opened the hatch right before him, climbed into the narrow space behind it and closed the hatch as quickly as possible. Then he crawled over to the nearby ladder and climbed down to the next deck, where he let out a low but sharp whistle, which was answered almost immediately from somewhere below.

Alex grinned and climbed down faster until he had reached the the bottom. Then he crawled into another Jefferies Tube whose door had been left open - another sign that everything was okay. He closed the door behind him and then crawled through a short tube until he reached a narrow junction where the man he had been wanting to see again ever since they had said goodbye after their last meeting was sitting on a blanket, a picnic basket next to him.

Picard smiled broadly. "Hello, Alexander."

The young bartender smiled back. "Hey."

They exchanged a brief kiss and then Picard scooted over in order to make room for Alex on the blanket.

Alex sat down and pointed at the basket. "I hope there's actual food in there and not PADDs for us to read or something."

Picard chuckled, took the basket, put it on his thighs and opened it. "See for yourself."

Alex leaned forward and his eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. "You brought crêpes?!"

"You said they're your favorites, so I thought I'd bring some this time. I was planning on making them myself, but the mission briefing this morning took longer than I expected, which means replicated ones will have to do - at least for now."

"It's the thought that counts," Alex smiled, reached inside the basket, took out the two plates that each had a crêpe on it and handed one of them to Picard.

"I'm afraid I forgot to bring knives and forks," Picard remarked sheepishly and put the basket away.

"That's very _un_ like you," Alex observed, grabbed his crêpe and bit into it.

"I guess I was a little... well... preoccupied."

"Ship's business?" Alex munched.

Picard smiled at the young bartender's obvious enthusiasm for his food and then bit into his own crêpe. "No, it had nothing to do with the Enterprise. More with the person I knew I'd be sharing these crêpes with."

Alex blushed slightly. "Oh."

They looked at each other, smiled awkwardly and then continued to eat their crêpes until Picard cleared his throat. "So... umm... how was your day?"

"Uneventful, except for another encounter with our current guests."

"The Ferengi delegation?"

"Yup." Alex shoved the last piece of crêpe into his mouth. "I can't get over them ordering snail juice."

"It _is_ a traditional Ferengi beverage."

"Yes, but that smell..."

"I would have thought bartenders are used to all kinds of strange beverage smells...?"

"Sure, but there are certain smells I just hate, no matter how many times I'm exposed to them. Ah well, it could be worse - we could have the Sheliak delegation on board; now _they_ take the cake when it comes to ordering weird drinks."

Picard swallowed his last piece of crêpe. "Speaking of the Sheliak, I _do_ have to thank you."

"Thank me?"

"Yes. I took your advice to heart - I spoke to the head of the Sheliak Corporate yesterday and approached them on _their_ ground from the start: I didn't even greet them, I simply stated the paragraph I wanted to discuss. The conversation went a lot more smoothly than the ones I've had with them before."

"I'm not surprised," Alex grinned. "The Sheliak are a lot like us Germans: Cut the small talk, get to the point."

"You seem to understand the Sheliak rather well indeed... I should make you this ship's official ambassador to the Sheliak Corporate."

Alex put his empty plate into the basket. "That's a tempting offer, but given my non-existent diplomatic skills I think it would be better for everyone involved if I just continue to be this ship's bartender."

Picard smiled and put his own plate into the basket as well and was just about to pull back his hand when it suddenly touched Alex'. The two men looked at each other and only now did they notice how close they were to each other.

Neither of them moved until Alex slowly raised his hand and touched Picard's cheek.

The captain inhaled sharply.

"What is it?" Alex asked softly.

"I'm... I'm not used to this..."

"Surely _some_ one must have been close to you recently?"

"Not really," Picard admitted. "Except for _you_ , of course."

"Then I guess it's up to me to make you _get_ used to someone being close to you," Alex whispered, leaned forward and gently kissed Picard's lips.

The captain returned the kiss, shyly and slowly at first but then mouths opened and tongues met, Picard pulled the younger man towards him - and bumped his head on the low ceiling.

He broke the kiss. "Ow..."

Alex frowned. "I hope this won't become a bruise..."

"If so, I'll just say I had an unfortunate encounter with a bulkhead." Picard sighed. "I know, I know - you don't have to say it: It's my own fault, this isn't an appropriate place for us to meet -"

"It's fine," Alex interrupted. "I know you don't want to rush into telling your crew about us, and there aren't many places aboard this ship where we can meet without anyone seeing us."

Picard leaned forward until his forehead touched Alex'. "No, it's _ridiculous_. I'm a grown man, and yet -"

"You're also a starship captain who takes his duty very seriously, as you told me in that hotel garden on Calder II," Alex remarked. "It's okay that you need time to figure things out. Besides... I rather enjoy our secret Jefferies Tube dates."

"It's a miracle no one has discovered us in here yet."

"It definitely helps that you know all the maintenance schedules."

"Yes, but there is always the possiblity of unexpected visitors. There _are_ over 800 people aboard this ship."

Alex leaned back slightly. "We'll just say I got lost and then called for you to come and get me."

"With a _picnic basket_?"

"You had to bring some food. I was stuck here for quite a while."

"And you called _me_ , of all people?"

"Why not? There's no one more qualified to lead you out of a Jefferies Tube maze than the captain of the ship the Jefferies Tube maze belongs to."

"You certainly have a way of finding excuses," Picard chuckled.

"A nasty habit of mine."

"I find it rather charming." Picard slowly ran his hand through Alex' short hair. "Thank you, Alexander."

"For what?"

"Understanding."

Alex gently kissed the tip of Picard's nose. "Don't mention it."


End file.
